


Not The Pariah Indeed

by katling



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Do not anger the Inquisitior, Halward Pavus is really rude, M/M, Minor Violence, She is small but scary, just a nasty comment about Cullen, no swearing though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2015-08-29
Packaged: 2018-04-17 20:20:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4680041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katling/pseuds/katling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Cullrian Prompt Saturday over on tumblr - mizushiba ASKED: imagine Halward as a last straw for getting Dorian back comes himself to Skyhold. of course Dorian don't want to go with him and Cullen acting overly protective. imagine a big fight between Cullen and Halward which ends with Halward being punched in face to unconciousness by Cullen. I just want to see Halward being punched in face. oh come on he deserve it!</p>
<p>I didn't manage the unconsciousness part but I did get the punch in. And he totally deserved it. (I’m still kind of squinting and looking sideways at this one but we have reached the day of posting so I’ve come to the conclusion that it is what it is.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not The Pariah Indeed

Cullen’s attention was drawn away from the report he was reading by the sounds of a commotion at the gates. He frowned and stood but before he could get too far, the door to his office burst open and one of the gate guards ran in. The guard skidded to a halt and snapped off a salute.

“Sir! There’s a Tevinter Magister at the gates demanding entrance.” The guard blinked and seemed to realise what he’d just said and how that measured up to what they were currently facing. “A… human one, sir. Not Corypheus.”

Cullen very firmly schooled his expression away from the grin that threatened. “I rather gathered it wasn’t Corypheus, soldier. The lack of screaming was a bit of a giveaway. Did this Magister give a name?”

“No, sir, but he’s demanding to speak to Serah Pavus.”

Cullen’s eyes narrowed at that and a disturbing suspicion as to the identity of this Tevinter Magister began to rise in his mind.

“Get the Inquisitor and _don’t_ inform Dorian just yet,” he ordered as he headed for the door.

The guard saluted again and took off at a run. Cullen took the long route towards the gates and, as he’d anticipated, was met by the Inquisitor before he could get there.

“A Tevinter Magister asking for Dorian? Is it who I think it is?” Lavellan said with an anger that made her tiny frame seem much bigger. A wise man knew not to anger the slight Inquisitor and for a brief moment Cullen hoped that Magister Halward Pavus – if indeed that’s who it was – was not a wise man.

“I don’t know,” Cullen replied. 

His own anger was slowly building to match the Inquisitor’s. He and Dorian had been dancing around each other since they first arrived at Skyhold and it had only been in the two weeks since they’d returned from Halamshiral that they moved beyond the nerves (from Cullen) and innuendo (from Dorian) into something more serious. Dorian had told him about what his father had tried to do him one night in the soft haze after lovemaking. He’d screwed up his courage and told Cullen of the action that had prompted his sudden removal south and Cullen had been both furious and frightened. Blood magic, above and beyond any other kind of magic, still had the power to strike such fear in him. Uldred’s depredations would always run deep, no matter how much he might move beyond his fears of other kinds of magic.

They arrived at the gate to find an imperious looking man standing beside a fine horse of Tevinter stock. Behind him was an elf with a disinterested air about him who was holding the reins of another fine horse as well as a far plainer pony. There was enough resemblance between the man and Dorian for Cullen to be satisfied that it was Dorian’s father and Lavellan’s reaction only cemented that.

“My Lord Pavus,” she said with a saccharine sweetness that had everyone in the vicinity bar Magister Pavus wincing and ducking for cover. They knew that tone of voice and nothing good ever came from it. “What brings you to Skyhold?”

“I have come to speak to my son,” Magister Pavus said calmly.

“Why?”

The Magister gave Lavellan a cool look. “I believe that is a matter between Dorian and myself.”

Lavellan’s eyes narrowed then she smiled sweetly. “Of course.” She turned to one of the guards. “Would you please be so kind as to fetch Dorian for me? Inform him that his father is here and wishes to speak to him.”

The guard nodded and took off towards the stronghold at a run. Lavellan made no move to invite Magister Pavus inside and the others all took their lead from her. No one came forward to take the man’s horse or offer any other aid. The Magister seemed well aware of the snub but appeared unaffected by it.

For his part, Cullen stepped away from the Inquisitor for a moment to whisper a few orders to one of the guards. The woman took off at a run and in short order, Cullen saw some of the Templars who were part of the Inquisition file into the lower courtyard. They were all wearing the ubiquitous Inquisition uniforms and looked no different from any other soldier. Cullen knew from the aid they’d sent Maevaris Tilani that Tevinter Magisters had few, if any, defences against Southern Templars. If Magister Pavus intended something underhanded, Cullen’s people were ready.

Lavellan gave no indication she’d seen what Cullen had done but from the air of smugness she was suddenly exuding, he knew she was aware… and approved.

“Father, how delightful to see you,” announced Dorian’s arrival.

The mage strutted over to join them, every inch of him screaming bravado and defiance. Cullen wanted to stand next to him, to place a hand on his shoulder, _anything_ … but one look at Dorian’s face told him that any such action would not be welcome. Dorian had every one of his defences raised and he would excoriate anyone who tried to breach them right now, even if they were a friend… or a lover.

“Dorian,” Magister Pavus said with a tiny inclination of his head. “I have come to take you home.”

“Well, this was a rather pointless trip then because I’m not going,” Dorian replied tartly.

Around them, the soldiers had suddenly taken slightly less relaxed positions and they were, to a man and woman, glaring at Magister Pavus. Cullen suddenly felt tremendously proud of them and he could only wish that Dorian was in a state to recognise that he wasn’t quite the Skyhold pariah that he fancied himself as being. He also noted in an abstract sort of way that the elf who had accompanied the Magister was now watching the unfolding events with a great deal of interest and a tiny smirk.

“You have responsibilities and duties at home,” Magister Pavus said stiffly. “We no longer have time for your… petty indulgences.”

The Magister – and perhaps Dorian, being so caught up in maintaining his own defences – was the only one who didn’t seem to notice the shift in the mood of the Inquisitor and those within hearing distance. To have the foe they faced dismissed as a ‘petty indulgence’ was clearly not going over well.

“ _This_ is far more important than any responsibilities and duties that may or may not be waiting for me at home,” Dorian spat, moving to get right in his father’s face. His voice curled insultingly when he continued. “Or have you joined the Venatori now, dear Father. It would go so well with your sudden desire to use blood magic.”

Cullen suddenly realised that Dorian was far more aware of his audience than he’d initially given him credit for. Those two words – ‘blood magic’ – caused a low murmuring go through the lower courtyard and expressions began to harden and hands closed around weapons. Out of the corner of his eye, Cullen could see the Templars close in just a little more, their eyes locked on the Magister.

“How dare you accuse me of such things,” Magister Pavus said angrily.

“Oh, I dare a great many things, Father,” Dorian snapped back. “Because I am who I am and I intend to remain that way. Or had you forgotten that little fact.”

The way the Magister’s lips curled in distaste and disdain had Cullen stepping over to Dorian’s side without a thought. He drew himself up to his full height and levelled a glare at the man. It hadn’t been difficult for him to work out the meaning behind Dorian’s slightly oblique comments. His movement had caught the Magister’s eye and he found himself being examined with the same sort of disdain as had been directed just before at Dorian. Cullen let his glare harden.

“Is this your reason for staying?” Magister Pavus said, his voice dripping with contempt. “Some Fereldan dog-lord? If I had known you were interested in bestiality, Dorian, then my intervention was all the more necessary.”

Cullen was sure that every Templar and mage in the entirety of Skyhold must have felt the wave of magic that surged out of Dorian and no one within hearing range could have missed the Elvhen obscenities that spewed out of Lavellan’s mouth. He, however, preferred to take a far more direct approach. It was probably beneath him as the Commander of the Inquisition’s forces and it would undoubtedly play into Magister Pavus’ opinions of uncouth Southerners but the satisfaction he felt when his fist met the Magister’s mouth was deep and abiding.

The Magister flew backwards, the horses startled and reared and the courtyard erupted into an uproar. The next moment the spare horse and pony were galloping back over the bridge towards the path down through the mountains as the Magister’s elf eeled his way through the angry crowd to crouch behind Dorian. As all that happened, Magister Pavus was struggling to his feet, magic radiating from his hands, even as blood dripped from his nose and mouth.

He didn’t have a chance to do anything before the most senior of the Templars stepped forward and Silenced the Magister. The Tevinter mage looked stunned and just a little frightened and Lavellan stepped forward and took control of the situation.

“You will leave, Magister Pavus,” she said with a chill tone that sent shivers down everyone’s spine. When Lavellan moved from saccharine sweet to cold as ice, it was time to run for the hills. “Get on your horse and leave right now or you will get some first-hand experience as to the abilities of our Southern Templars.” 

The Templars stepped forward and ranged themselves behind Lavellan, Cullen and Dorian. They looked grim and just a little superior, as though they were quite looking forward to displaying their talents. Magister Pavus took one look at them and mounted his horse with a dignity he surely didn’t feel.

“Go home, Magister Pavus,” Lavellan said coldly. “And perhaps reflect on why your son has more of a home here than he ever did in Tevinter.”

Magister Pavus glared at her then looked around. “Where is my slave?”

Dorian shifted to stand further in front of the elf, who was still cowering behind him. Cullen closed the gap, blocking the elf from the Magister’s view.

Lavellan’s temper became positively glacial. “ _Leave_ , Magister. Now.”

Magister Pavus looked for a moment like he was going to press the issue then he turned his horse and rode off across the bridge. Lavellan watched him go then turned to the nearest soldier. 

“Gather a group and follow him. Make sure he’s going home.”

The soldier saluted and hurried off and the rest of the crowd began to slowly disperse now that the threat was gone. Dorian gave Cullen a long unreadable look then turned to the elf.

“Joshel?” he said warily.

The elf straightened and relaxed just a little. “I would rather stay with you, Master Dorian.”

Dorian looked startled and just a little lost and it made Cullen wonder what his home life had been like if just this tiny bit of loyalty from a slave was enough to render him momentarily speechless.

“I… well, you can,” Dorian replied. “The Inquisition can use all the help it can get but… not as a slave.”

The elf… Joshel… frowned. “Master?”

“No masters here, Joshel,” Dorian said with a small smile. “If you stay here, you’re free.”

Lavellan had been beaming rather proudly at Dorian, as though at a student who done unexpectedly well, and she stepped up now, her smile modulating into something more encouraging as she turned it on the elf. 

“No masters or slaves here, Joshel,” she said gently. “Only people working together and you’ll be paid for whatever you end up doing.” She stepped forward and took his hand. “Come, let me introduce you to a few people and we can see what you can do here for us.”

Joshel seemed caught between a happy daze and worry and even as he let himself be pulled away, he glanced over his shoulder at Dorian. “Master?”

“No masters here, Joshel,” Dorian said.

They watched as Lavellan ushered the elf away and when Dorian turned to face Cullen, the warrior squared his shoulders, expecting recrimination for his actions.

“My knight in shining armour,” Dorian said whimsically.

Cullen was startled. “I… you didn’t mind? I know it was probably a bit presumptuous of me but…” 

His face darkened into a scowl as he recalled the Magister’s slurs against both him and Dorian. 

“Oh, he deserved it,” Dorian said, stepping closer. “And it was a delight to watch.”

Cullen relaxed and a small smile grew on his lips as he watched Dorian sidle closer. When he was close enough, he wrapped an arm around the mage’s waist and pulled him against him. Dorian didn’t seem to mind, though Cullen did notice the quick nervous glances he gave to his left and right. The fact that those left in the courtyard were ostentatiously ignoring them with little soft smiles on their faces seemed to settle him.

“And whatever it was that Templar did was priceless,” Dorian continued.

“He Silenced him,” Cullen said with a smile. “It’s very effective.”

“Yes, it is,” Dorian replied before closing the remaining gap between them with a kiss.

Cullen leaned into the kiss, wrapping his other arm around Dorian’s shoulders. For a moment, the rest of the world faded away as they concentrated solely on the kiss and each other then they slowly parted, just enough to rest their foreheads together.

“All of Skyhold will know about us now,” Cullen murmured.

Dorian smirked. “You mean they didn’t already?”

Cullen chuckled. “You’re probably right. I’ve never been very good at subtle.”

“Just as well I like you just how you are,” Dorian replied lightly and the smile on his face now was gentle and wondering. “Do you think anyone would mind if I stole you away for the rest of the day? A knight should always get his reward when he rescues the handsome lad in distress.”

Cullen captured Dorian’s mouth in a quick but heated kiss. “I think that would be just fine.”


End file.
